Ghost Ship aftermath
One year after the Ghost Ship fire that killed 36 people, Oakland has hired new inspectors and implemented new policies to improve response systems and communications among its safety agencies. Though the changes are welcome, they still aren’t enough. Right now, Oakland remains vulnerable to another similar tragedy.
The city still has a backlog of 1,000 commercial properties that need inspections. It continues to struggle with difficulties in identifying potentially hazardous buildings. New software, which would allow improved interdepartmental communications for inspections, has yet to come online.
Observers are rightly frustrated. In response to a recent city progress report, Robert Thompson, an attorney for a dozen families that lost children in the Ghost Ship fire, criticized Oakland for “patting itself on the back.” One of Thompson’s main criticisms was that Oakland is following its old rules instead of creating new ones.
He has a point. According to Oakland’s ordinances, the city was required to fix the hazardous conditions in a building like the Ghost Ship, which had no fire exits, sprinkler systems or automatic fire-detection systems.
At the top of Oakland’s priority list must be clearing out the inspections backlog. As long as that remains, people’s lives are at risk.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf says the backlog should be cleared within the first six months of 2018.
“We’ve contracted with an outside firm to address the backlog,” Schaaf said. “For the long term, we’ve hired six more inspectors and there are more on the way.”
Beyond that, the city will have to find better ways to identify potentially hazardous buildings. Right now, it’s relying on complaints from neighbors and landlords.
Many buildings are flying under the radar. Vulnerable tenants, fearful of losing their housing in an expensive area, are reluctant to alert their landlords or city officials to potential problems.
Their fears are understandable — at least five of the 32 buildings under city scrutiny for code violations have evicted tenants.
But people’s lives are at stake. In the case of the Ghost Ship, the city’s response was stymied by the intransigence and negligence of the building’s owner, Chor Ng, and master tenant, Derick Almena.
“It is very difficult to do our jobs when people lie to us,” Schaaf said.
To encourage frightened tenants to report dangerous conditions, Oakland has to take steps to protect them. One possible step Schaaf is considering would be updating the city’s fire and building codes to account for the reality of creative living spaces.
“It’s a hard debate because it could be seen by some as compromising building codes,” Schaaf said. “But we know that pushing people into difficult housing situations, where they can’t contact the authorities, will make them less safe.”
Oakland will need to do all of this while in the midst of upgrading its personnel.
After the retirement of the much-criticized fire chief Teresa Deloach Reed, there’s a new chief, Darin White. The department is still seeking the crucial position of assistant fire marshal.
It’s a long and difficult list of tasks. Yet the tragedy of Ghost Ship demands that the city of Oakland thoroughly and completely remake its safety procedures, and that it do so with great haste.